Back when I still though Rocket Pops were the best thing ever, I went to two summer school’s worth of Japanese culture classes, and thought I knew a decent amount. For the next decade-plus I never practiced. Fast forward to my twenties, and I’m meeting the relatives in Japan, pretending I know the right prayers to chant to the family graveyard and relying on a first grade vocabulary to navigate everything else. My conversations with relatives basically went like this: “Hi. How are you?”

“Good.”

“The weather is nice today.”

“Yes.”

“…”

“…”

I’m here because I need to relearn and build on my Japanese, especially the kanji. Nice to meet everyone!